Just Time
by Mizura
Summary: Sequel to "If Only" Yes I actually wrote a sequel, Omfg. XD AlNel centric. Complete!
1. Part 1

_Author's Note: _I debated a bit about writing anything sequel-esque 'cause sequels have a tendency to screw up moi initial stories xD but here goes anyway. Those o' you who haven't read the first ficcy "If Only" might not understand all o' this since I have a few references back to that one mrow. (And same disclaimer and all that special warning stuff applies.) Basically a quick present to those who reviewed before (hearts!) and who weren't too happy with the ending (which I wasn't either, SO3 needs to have other pair endings I say!!) This is less plot-centric as it is just relation development, so you have been warned! Boredom alert! Bing bing bing! And now I'll shut up. XD 

**Part 1**

A single year passed. So many things changed and yet so many others stayed the same. Arias was undergoing many improvements, to Nel Zelpher's relief. Clair Lasbard had done everything in her power to restore the village to how it had been before, but still there were signs of the war which had raged the year prior.

Airyglyph and Aquaria were at a definite peace for the time being, as the King Arzei and the high priestess kept to themselves in Airyglyph castle. The queen of Aquaria did not settle down as he did, as she took in her care all of what was going on in her own city. This included all of the missions that she had to assign, some with a heavy heart, and some with a hidden smile of mirth. One of these times was when she called upon her trusted subordinate, Lady Nel. The redhead had just taken a break from her duties she had been assigned by Clair in Arias. She had even mentioned to Fayt Leingod once, a year back, that she had caused so much trouble to her friend and she would have to pay it back. Paying it back she was, as she did most of the work that Clair was too tired to do, and that involved watching over Tynave and Farleen during their work as well. The two hadn't changed a bit in the year, Farleen still being overly enthusiastic and Tynave simply the more serious of the two. Tynave also kept looking as though she didn't get enough sleep, though she claimed she had plenty of rest since there was little threat of war.

The redhead made her way to the queen's throne room, immediately lowering herself in respect. She could have sworn she heard Lasselle shoot some irritable comment toward her, and the thoughts were confirmed when Queen Romeria told him to stay quiet.

"Stand up, Lady Nel."

Nel did as the queen told, slowly raising her eyes toward Her Majesty. The queen had not changed at all in the year as well, and stood as regal and beautiful as ever. A serene smile was placed on the woman's face.

"I have a mission for you."

"A mission?" Nel blinked a few times. There hadn't been much going on lately, she knew, and the biggest obstacle she had to face was making sure one of the Arias houses didn't collapse while she was in it. The missions that had been assigned had been minor cases, and she had not had to do much other than the first mission right after her adventures with Fayt Leingod and his friends. _Her_ friends, as well. She wondered whatever happened to them. It wasn't surprising that she hadn't been assigned too many missions. After the others had left, Nel Zelpher's name became more known than it had been before, now with the title of savior of the world attached to it. She didn't particularly boast of the title, since she wasn't the only one who had helped get rid of the Executioners and Luther, the creater, a year before.

Romeria simply nodded at her question. "Unless you did not wish to take any upon yourself as of now...."

"Oh, of course not, Your Majesty. I was just surprised, that's all." Nel felt her face burn slightly and kept her gaze a few inches from the queen. Lasselle was probably snickering at her. Too bad he hadn't changed either. Change would have done him good. "May I ask what this mission would involve?"

"I will need to send you to Airyglyph. Arzei has asked for me to send one of my best warriors to Airyglyph to assist them. I found that you would be most qualified."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning, one of the men from Airyglyph will come to escort you to the castle." Romeria nodded her head once-- a movement Nel knew to mean that she was dismissed.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

---

Understood, most definitely. Nel took a moment to think as she sat on her bed, a faint frown appearing on her face. She hadn't had a chance to go to Airyglyph at all for the previous year. Slowly, the image of a familiar ex-captain of the city appeared in her face and she shook it aside. Sure, she had promised Albel Nox that she would visit him if duty brought her there. And well, it was going to be bringing her there, alright. She wondered whatever happened to him. Rumors about Albel the Wicked had died away after all the fuss about Fayt Leingod and Co. Come to think of it, the only rumors she heard these days were about herself and the other "saviors of the world." Albel included, but not spoken of as a sole individual. The woman sighed to herself. For all she knew, Albel could have been sent off somewhere else at the same time. What luck that would be. She wondered if he even really cared to see her anymore. They hadn't even travelled together for a year. A year was enough to pull away from anyone, right?

She glanced at herself in the mirror, frowning when she noticed a faint warmth spread across her face. If that was the case, then why did she feel so nervous at the prospect of seeing the man again? Sure, she hadn't had much time to think about anything besides Arias lately, but it didn't mean she had forgotten about her love. If he really _was_ her love. She couldn't tell anymore. Well, the morning would explain all, she decided, and readied herself for sleep.

When Nel stepped out to see who her escort was, she had to catch herself from gasping. The escort was, the one and only, Albel Nox, which shouldn't have been much of a surprise if she had considered the idea.

She hadn't.

He had a faint scowl on his face, both of his arms folded, and was standing basically how she had remembered him to stand when he was... frankly... annoyed.

"You're late, maggot." was the first thing that she heard him say.

Nel knew better than to expect some kind phrase shot toward her, but this irritated her a bit as well. "Well, I didn't expect I'd get to see _you_ this early, Albel Nox."

"Bah. So you're the worm that they sent out to help on the mission?" he sneered a bit. "I hope you don't weigh me down."

"I _have_ been doing my share of training, if you must know," Nel shot back, putting both hands to her hips. "Though if you're planning on carrying me, yes, I might weigh your skinny arms down."

Albel went silent for a moment, then shrugged. "Come along, wench. The king's waiting."

Nel didn't feel too comfortable as the man motioned to the dragon he had apparently arrived on. He got on the beast as though it was the most normal thing to do in Elicoor, but she was slightly hesitant, even when she felt him grab her and lead her arms around his form for added security. The last time she had ridden a dragon was a year ago, with all of the others. When the dragon lifted off of the ground, she took in a sharp breath, shutting her eyes.

"Afraid of heights, worm?"

Nel's eyes flitted open, her expression shifting to annoyance. His words had no touch of familiarity in them. It was almost as if what had happened a year ago had been a flitting dream. All thoughts of welcoming vanished from her mind. "No." she said curtly. "It's just that I'm not used to riding dragons like you are."

She took a moment to glance down. It was true she wasn't afraid of heights, and the view was definitely one she could admire. Instinctively, she tightened her hold on the man as the dragon took a swift turn, and she felt Albel tense for a split second. "Are you trying to kill me, wench?"

Nel immediately loosened her hold when she heard him speak, his voice somewhat strained. He took in a deep breath, and she could sense his scowl in front of her. "Sorry." she mumbled, more due to instinct than apology. "So, what exactly is this mission that we're going on?"

Albel was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. "You'll know soon enough, wench."

The rest of the ride went by rather quickly, neither speaking unless they needed to. Nel was tempted to ask what had happened in the last year, but gauging his temper at the moment, it wasn't a smart thing to ask. She sighed inwardly. What happened to the man who had once told her he loved her? He seemed replaced again with the same figure that she had known in the very beginning. Cold and sinister-- no betrayal of any emotion other than anger. Did something happen in the year they were apart?

"We're here, maggot."

The dragon landed on cue and Nel watched as Albel patted the beast on the head a few times before pulling away from her and leaping to the ground. He glanced up toward her for a moment, seeming to notice her hesitation once again. Slowly, he raised his functioning arm toward her.

"Hm?"

"Here." he snapped, and she took his hand, letting him pull her down from the dragon. She landed half in his arms and half not, and he set her down, his expression still indifferent.

Albel took only a moment to make sure she was alright before he turned aside, taking a few steps away. The redhead was just about finished with this attitude of his and shrugged, keeping her tone cold. "I missed you too, Albel."

He stopped, giving Nel a chance to look around the city. Like it had been a year ago, it was snowing, sending a small chill up the woman's spine. The snow made the whole place seem so dreary, and it was surprising how little had changed in the city. They had never been around Airyglyph long enough for her to learn where everything was, though, so she was finding herself in unknown territory. If this had been before, she would have found herself experiencing some sort of fear-- being alone in a city she knew little of with Albel the Wicked.

Now it was less Albel the Wicked. It was Albel the Annoying. Why the heck was he being so distant? She sighed, unable to keep a frown from reappearing on her face.

---

"I missed you too, Albel."

Albel Nox paused for a moment upon hearing the words. They were cold-- colder than he had expected her to speak toward him. Then again, he wasn't acting any different from before toward her, so he shouldn't be expecting anything back. A faint frown appeared on his face. It wasn't that he had forgotten what had happened a year ago-- it was just that he didn't want it to happen again. In Albel's mind, the odd twinge of love he had felt toward this woman was nothing more than something which would hinder what he was doing from then on. The year apart had enhanced this idea. The last thing he wanted to do was be dependent on some other being. Again. As he had been with his father.

Instinctively, he clenched his fist. If he kept as far enough away from the wench as possible, maybe he would be able to think of her as nothing more than he had thought when they had first met. Sure, she was still one of the few members of Fayt's team that he had respect for (okay, so the only other member was Fayt himself), but that meant nothing in the long run-- right? If only he hadn't been the one sent out to retrieve the blasted wench. The feeling of her arms around him was not one he could easily tear from his mind.

It was silent for a long time, and he realized it was his turn to speak. What would he have said a year ago? Nothing. He would have simply turned back around and grabbed her. Held her. Maybe even kissed her. This was not a year ago. He wasn't the same anymore. Or maybe, he was just the same as he was before he ever met her. Too much had happened-- and between them, too little.

"Bah." he stated, keeping his tone around the same level as hers in hostility. "You look like you're doing well, maggot."

"You look the same."

He shivered involuntarily, allowing her to think that it was simply the Airyglyph cold that was getting to him. He was wearing the same style tank top and skirt as he did before anyway. In truth, it was the way she was able to shoot back commentary in such an indifferent tone that got to him. Granted, he was doing the same. He supposed two could play the game, and she was taking it up as easily if she had formulated the rules herself. Before he could comment back toward her, she spoke again.

"You need to eat something, Nox. I thought in the last year or so they wouldn't starve you so much."

He growled. So what if he was skinny? It made him faster anyway. And it wasn't that he was starving, it was just that he wasn't hungry. "Hmph." Who did she think she was? His mother?

The woman was starting to walk toward him, but he made no move to step aside. He sensed her pause, then move around him, walking a few paces in front but not turning to look at his form. "I won't ask what happened in the last year, Albel, but if you're planning on reverting to being a bastard as you always were, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know so I don't have to be wasting any feelings toward you."

The man paused, arching an eyebrow. So the wench hadn't forgotten about the year back either. He supposed it wasn't much of something to forget anyway. His first thought was to allow her to break his guard once more-- maybe they'd have a chance this time? And his second was to remain as passive as he possibly could. He grappled with both options for some time, and then opened his mouth to speak.

Of course he loved her; it wasn't as if any other woman had caught his attention in the year they were apart. But if it was that the love would inhibit his ability to become stronger, he would be willing to sacrifice--

"There you are, Sir Albel! The king has been waiting!"

Drat.

Albel shut his mouth for a moment to re-gather his thoughts, then shrugged. "Alright, wench. The king wants to see us."

If Nel seemed at all disturbed about her previous comment, she was easily able to mask it. Her expression was calm-- very professional. And very admirable. She hadn't changed much, except her hair had grown out slightly below shoulder length, and framed her face rather well. Albel took the lead, pretending to be indifferent about her following, but he made sure he could hear her footsteps before proceeding. It would be no good to lose the woman somewhere in Airyglyph. There were still some of those who were against the alliance, and it could be dangerous territory for wandering Aquarians if they weren't so careful. Or maybe dangerous for anyone in Airyglyph who might want to start a fight with this certain Aquarian.

They reached the castle soon enough, the guards in front immediately allowing them access when they spotted Albel in the lead. One cocked an eyebrow toward Nel's form but the other diligently saluted her, knowing why they had been summoned. Albel could tell what they were thinking without having to take a second glance. The saviors of Elicoor are gathering! What could be wrong?

The man rolled his eyes in irritation, then slowed his pace so that Nel could walk beside him. He had to be wary in front of the king, lest he might get a lecture on hospitality. He had gotten a few of those before, and, although he didn't follow them, he found them most annoying to be repeated. He shifted his gaze down slightly to scan her form. The redhead looked simply passive, her head raised up proudly and her stance the same as he had remembered before. Bah. She was still beautiful, if not even more so than he remembered.

He was able to prevent himself from flinching when he noticed her turn toward him as well, her expression questioning. She seemed to look him over once, and he scowled, folding his arms and shifting his glance aside. He could hear her sigh and turn forward again, just in time to reach the throne room. King Arzei was seated on his throne, looking indescribably worn out. Albel's scowl widened slightly. The glance he had of the queen in Aquaria had no touch of weariness like he did. He wondered if it just had to do with their temperament.

When the King spotted them, he nodded his head, a smile appearing on his face. Temporarily, the tired look vanished from his form. "Ah, welcome, Lady Nel." he said. He glanced toward his subordinate, then nodded toward him as well. "Albel."

Nel bowed her head politely. "It is an honor to see you."

Albel rolled his eyes, though if the king had seen he would have had another lecture stocked. The redhead always seemed to know exactly how to work things out with her words. He could recall faintly the time when they were speaking with Crosell, that brute, and she still kept her words utterly polite. Albel on the other hand cared little for formalities. His strength got his point across most often than not anyway.

"I'm sure you two both know that we're in need of you to go on a mission." the king said, his expression darkening just slightly. Albel thought to pay attention, though he kept his eyes wandering around in lazy boredom. "It might not seem like much, but I would like you to investigate a place found within the Aquatic Gardens of Surferio."

"The Aquatic Gardens of Surferio?" Nel repeated, incredulous.

Albel knew what she was thinking. The last time they had gone there, there was no sign of anything past the guardian of a treasure chest-- which they had given the remains to the wench in Peterny's craftsmanship guild. And why on Elicoor would the king need two of the country's most well known fighters to check up on somewhere so simple? Not only that, but it was closer to Aquaria than it was to Airyglyph. Romeria should have been the one ordering the mission.

"It's an odd request, I know." Arzei stated, faint signs of sheepishness appearing on his expression. "But there are rumors about a transporter that has formed near the area. I don't expect you to know about these, but as you had been in other technologically advanced places..."

Firewall. Sphere. Arkives. Bah. So in other words the king wanted them to investigate some high-tech place that Albel would just be completely lost to. He frowned. Nel knew little more about technology than he did. Unless Fayt or one of the other... "Earthlings" was it? came along, they would have as much trouble as anyone else. Just because they had seen the technology before didn't mean that they knew anything of it.

He glanced toward Nel to see if she had an argument for the king. She apparently did not, for she nodded her head. "Mission understood. When are we departing?"

"Whenever is the best for you." the king looked thoughtful. "We are not on a time constraint on such things, so it would be best to prepare yourselves thoroughly just in case something strange occurs in the ruins."

Something strange... bah. In such a place? Doubtful.

Albel shrugged when he noticed Arzei's eyes on him. "Let's just get this over with then, wench. You have better things to do than help our kingdom out, I'm sure."

He sensed the woman's rage this time and if the king wasn't there, he would have stepped back a few paces. He stubbornly stayed in his spot, though, and didn't budge until the king dismissed them. 


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

Nel Zelpher was, simply put, pissed off. She had managed to keep her temper from flaring whilst speaking with the king, but when the two were dismissed and they were out of hearing range, she turned on her companion. "Albel," she hissed, "If you have a problem with me, let me know before I tear those braids out of your head."

She watched him shift his gaze toward hers for a split second before he scoffed. "I'd like to see you try, maggot."

Oh, would he.

She narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips together beneath her scarf. The only reason she had to follow him around for this time was to make sure she knew where she was staying. After that, she was free to do as she pleased. Albel seemed willing to get the mission over with, though, and she knew they wouldn't be staying in Airyglyph longer than they needed. Nor did she really _want_ to stay here, if it meant that she would have to be escorted by this man. Apparently there was something about her that displeased him lately, and he was making it a habit to show it.

She wanted to take him aside and give him a good punch in the face. She hadn't yet lost her sanity, though, and if a year back he was good enough to cause three of Aquaria's best fighters some trouble, she was probably nowhere close to being able to defend herself against him. This also contributed to her anger.

"We're supposed to work together in this mission, I thought." she stated grimly, keeping as much anger from her voice as possible. "I don't think our countries would be too happy if we killed each other on the way."

"Bah. I don't need your help, wench. If it's something as simple as investigating some ruins, I could have done that myself."

Nel raised an eyebrow. She could have sworn he had seemed as if he had known the mission ahead of time. Maybe it was just his high and mighty attitude that was the case. He was too stubborn to admit something he didn't know. Well, he did once, she recalled, a long while back where they had first met Vanilla-- but that didn't really count. "I'm not stopping you from going on alone, Albel."

Truth be told, it was a mission, though, and she knew Albel knew as well as herself that she wouldn't back down from one. He simply shrugged. "Just get yourself ready to go in the morning, worm."

They stopped in front of the inn and Nel watched as Albel glowered toward a few men in the corner who were smirking. Apparently, they were commenting on how nice the woman looked. Flattering, but kind of irritating. Nel had had enough with Cliff's talk of hot chicks a while back. She suddenly felt rather tempted to step forward and make a show of holding onto the Airyglyph ex-captain, but that would more than likely be more of a hassle than not (not to mention how Albel would take it..ugh) and so she let the thought flicker and fade in her mind.

"You're staying here." Albel stated, gesturing toward one of the room doors. "Be up early."

"Alright." she nodded in consent, stepping over and into the room. The room was rather spacious for such a small inn and she realized that she had been assigned the largest place in the area. She would have to remember where this was, since she needed to buy a few items to take along the way. She couldn't expect Albel to do that anyway. He'd probably just run off training and return tired as he always did, though fatigue never showed itself on his face. Only in his body. She frowned after he left, shutting the door and taking a seat on the large bed. He really looked no different from how he had been before. He still had his trademark braids and his clothing style hadn't changed; apparently neither had his temper. She wondered how he would have been now if they had indeed stayed together after Fayt and the others had left.

Nel lay on the bed, taking in a deep breath. The man still looked malnutritioned, that was for one. He hadn't gained any weight since they were apart. She frowned further. If they had gotten together right after Fayt had left, she concluded, she would have done something to get some meat on his figure.

She sighed. That was only if. At the rate they were going, she doubted that they'd even end up as friends by the end of the mission. He sure as heck didn't seem very thrilled to work with her, that was for sure. His attitude was harsh enough to grate onto her as well, so she knew she wasn't making it any easier on him to change him either.

The next morning she was up before the sun rose, stretching a bit and rubbing at her eyes. If anything, she was tired. Exhausted would be a better word. She got little sleep, with thoughts of how the day would go traveling with a certain irritable swordsman. Wishing that someone else had been assigned the mission, she got ready with a heavy heart. When she heard three knocks on the door, she was not at all surprised and simply glanced toward Albel in passive irritation when he opened the door.

The man looked somewhat confused and she raised an eyebrow. Apparently he hadn't expected that she would have been awake. "Well, you're later than I thought you'd be." she pointed out dryly.

"Hmph. I was going to let you have a few more minutes of sleep, but I guess you didn't need it, wench."

He sure looked refreshed. Nel frowned faintly, keeping herself as alert as possible. When her eyelids drooped a bit, the man scoffed.

"Didn't you get any rest at all?"

"I got enough," she snapped, rubbing at her eyes in irritation. She was _not_ about to let him mock her further. "If you're ready to go then I guess we should. You want to finish this mission quickly and get me away from you as soon as possible, don't you?"

Albel paused, his mouth opening to form a response. Slowly, it shut and he shrugged. "Maybe." she caught him mutter after a moment, turning aside and gesturing for her to follow. This she did, after grabbing her bag and weaponry.

---

The trek to the lost city was not so long, and Albel felt somewhat relieved at this. He kept silent the entire time the woman trailed behind him, and although she had tried a few times to spark a conversation, he had only responded with shrugs and shakes of his head. He could sense her irritation, but knowing that they were on a mission, Nel Zelpher would not dare to harm him. Annoying as he may have been being, he was still her companion. He glanced back at her once. If it had been a year ago, she might have been more.

A scowl crossed his face as he glanced around the ruins of the city. Curse the wench. If only she had gotten settled with some other man while he had been busy, it would have made things that much easier. It would have helped his attraction to the woman fade quicker than it was doing so now. If anything, it was beginning to rekindle in the man the more that he had to be around her. The only way to stop this was to be as irritating as possible toward her. And irritating he was. He could almost praise himself for his behavior.

That is, if it was that he didn't still care for her.

Which he did.

So his behavior was nothing more than childish. He knew it himself, but he shrugged it off. In the back of his mind, he could hear a soft whisper calling toward him, and he paused, figuring out slowly that it was Nel, trying to spark up conversation number who knew what it was now. He was tempted just to tell her to shut up and that he wasn't planning on talking, when he noticed how tired the woman suddenly seemed. Sure, he had seen she had gotten little rest, but they had only been walking for a few hours...

"I'm sorry," she was saying, "I know that you want to finish this as soon as possible, but I--"

"Maggot." he took care to hiss at her. She narrowed her eyes, but didn't shoot anything back. She really must have been tired. "Alright... you'll rest in Peterny. Can you make it that far, wench?"

"I should be able to," she stated, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "Oh, whatever. We can just go ahead and investigate now. This won't kill me."

"No." he stated, stepping forward and rolling his eyes. "You're going to sleep. We'll come back tomorrow. I don't need you falling asleep while we're in the ruins."

"................" Her gaze was on his, questioning.

What? Was there something on his face? Her gaze was beginning to get unnerving and he glanced away before he could feel his face warm. Cursed scum! He didn't need this...

Oh. Wait.

"Worm." he added after a pause. That seemed to signify that he was still sane in the woman's eyes and he felt her gaze shift away.

"..alright."

---

Well, it seemed like the man had _some_ sympathy, Nel figured, as she lay down on her bed in Peterny. Normally she would have been fine with few hours of sleep, but for some reason, the whole trek was making her tired. They had only encountered a few beasts on the way, and she had had no trouble defeating those. She had also healed herself, but she hadn't spent so much MP that she would feel so tired. She shook her head, a frown appearing on her face. She didn't feel too good. The woman paused for a moment, her gaze lowering to her wrist. A small line of blood was on it and she lifted it to lick it off.

Slowly, her eyes widened, noticing that there seemed to be something wrong. Stumbling a little, she dug into her pocket, shifting its contents slowly. When she felt her surroundings flicker green for a moment, her realization was confirmed. "..poison?" she started, frowning. Lifting herself and heading toward the door, she couldn't even muster enough strength to jump when she spotted Albel a few feet from it. If he seemed at all surprised to see her, he didn't show it.

"You look green, maggot." he commented, raising an eyebrow.

She was too tired to complain, stepping aside from him and starting toward the entrance of the inn. He stopped her, grabbing one of her arms and turning her to face him. He eyed her warily for a moment, then spoke.

"You're poisoned."

"Oh, am I?" she finally retorted, putting a hand to her forehead. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't state the obvious. I need to get some kind of antidote so I can sleep."

The man looked anything but sympathetic. "Just stay in your room, maggot."

"And let myself get poisoned to death? I think not."

He pushed her toward the door and she stumbled back, frowning when she felt the door open to allow her to topple into the room. "I'll get it, alright? Stay there and don't make it worse."

Nel's frown widened. "Should I trust you?"

"Bah. We're in the mission together, worm. I'm the one who'll get in trouble if you die on me."

That seemed satisfactory enough. Defeated, she stayed put, not bothering to shut the door or even move from the floor. With each passing minute, she felt her whole body shudder and weaken. She made a mental note to buy some aquaberries when they traveled. Time passed for what seemed like ages and she felt just about to pass out when she heard him return. Groggy, she allowed him to help her drink whatever it was that he brought to help her. In the back of her mind she wondered if it was poisoned, but since she already _was_ poisoned, it couldn't do much worse anyway.

Slowly, she felt strength return in her body and she was able to lift herself from his hold, shaking her head a few times. "..thank you." she stated, keeping her gaze lowered.

"Hmph. If you would have told me you were poisoned before I would have helped you earlier, scum."

She felt him move his right hand to her forehead.

"Now get some sleep." a pause. "And be more prepared next time, worm."

Nel shrugged faintly as he took a moment to lift her from the ground and to the bed, setting her down with no touch of familiarity. "What would I do without you." she stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hmph."

She heard him exit the room more than she saw him, then sighed. Slowly, she raised her hand, touching her forehead lightly. He had moved her prior with no intent of intimacy whatsoever, but she could still feel his light touch on her body. "................"

The man had no doubt reverted to how he had been again. She remembered he had done the same between the time they had first travelled with Fayt and his group and the second. Slowly, he had reopened himself up the second time, but this time he didn't seem at all willing to do the same. She understood why, faintly, but she didn't like it one bit. During the year they were apart she had firmly ingrained in her mind that they would never be more than friends again, but once she had seen him, something inside of her had entertained the thought of their togetherness once more. Apparently, she was the only one who thought any of this though, and his attitude at the moment was threatening to stop all outside feeling for this man.

An almost stinging pain shot through her briefly and she thought for a moment that the poison had returned, but if faded almost as quickly. Nel let out a soft sigh. All of the fond memories of her companion were slowly being wiped away by the harsh reality of what she was facing now. The year must have been too much, she decided. Still, it was not at all easy to forget the night before they had separated. Almost on instinct, she lifted one hand, pulling down her scarf slightly and trailing one hand down her neck. She knew the exact place that he had marked her that one day, even though it had faded many months ago.

Oh dear Apris. His attitude was not at all appealing, and it was that which counted, not appearances, right? He annoyed her-- well, his indifference did now. If wouldn't have affected her much if it wasn't.....

"Goddess," she muttered, "I thought that I had gotten over him.."

Indeed, she had. Until she had seen him again. Accursed fate for teasing her like this. And curse Nox for being such a bastard.

With growing resolve, she decided that she would give him a piece of her mind as soon as she was well enough to defend herself. 


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**

It was past midnight and Albel Nox felt somewhat restless. If the blasted wench hadn't gotten herself poisoned, they wouldn't have had to stop by Peterny. The place brought back bad memories for the man. Muttering a bit, and knowing it was a good time to get rested up for the next day, he shut his eyes, forcing himself to pause all thinking in order to manage to sleep. Right when he had just gotten relaxed enough to rest, his eyes flitted open and he rolled off of the bed, growling as one trademark dagger landed where he had been lying a few moments back.

"What are you doing, worm?! Are you trying to kill me!?"

Nel Zelpher stood at the door, shaking her head. She looked rested up, he noted, which was a good sign. She'd better not think to get herself into any more trouble that would cause time wasting. He watched in irritation as she shut her eyes once and then reopened them, a smirk appearing on her face as she wandered over to retrieve the weapon. "Of course not. If I was, I wouldn't have missed."

Albel recognized the words easily-- the ones he had stated when he had first spoken to her at Peterny as well. What was she doing, mocking him again? If only they weren't in the same mission, he would have had her head by now.

No, if only it wasn't Nel Zelpher, he would have had her head by now.

"Bah." he stated, folding his arms and keeping a wary eye on her figure. She was putting the weapon away, seeming to have accomplished her purpose. "What do you want, wench?"

"I have a question for you." she snickered faintly, to his irritation. "That would mean that you have to answer it."

Worm. Now if it was going to be about the hatred talk again, he was sure he would maul something. And do it in the most painful way possible. "What now, maggot? Make it quick. You need to sleep." And so did Albel, for that matter.

To his utter annoyance, she took a seat on his bed, her arms folding slowly. He rolled his eyes, heading toward the only window in the room. This was Peterny, and there wasn't much of a view from it, spare two trees whose leaves were blowing harshly to signify another cold day. As if on cue, he felt a shiver come through him and he shook it aside. She seemed to be content with the silence, and for once, he was unhappy with it. If she wanted to say something, she needed to say it. Quick. Before he had to force her to leave his room to get some sleep.

The man was just about to do so when she spoke, her voice so quiet that he needed to pause to catch the words. "I just wanted to make it clear," she started. Her voice gradually became louder, almost forced. "A year ago.. we made a deal that we would visit each other if duty called for it."

Albel frowned, glancing aside. Somehow, he knew where this was headed. She was treading dangerous ground now, mentioning a topic than neither seemed too thrilled to speak about.

The woman took a moment to take in a deep breath. "Well, duty has called for it, hasn't it."

"................"

"I got over you, Albel Nox." she stated, confirming his thoughts.

He wasn't surprised. He was the fool, anyway, for not forgetting her in the year apart. Thinking of a snide comment, he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could shoot it out, she continued:

"I could have sworn that I did. Until I saw you again.."

-- wait, what? He turned back toward her, his eyes narrowing. "Out with it, woman! We don't have time for--"

"I just want to know what our standing is, Nox!" Nel shook her head two times, putting one hand to her forehead. "I want to know if you lost what you felt a year back. If that's the case-- then I understand. A year is a long time. But if not.. could you stop being so d--- distant!?"

He watched as she put a hand to her mouth, seeming to surprise even herself with her words. The man paused, letting them sink in. If he was to back down, it was the last chance he had. The last chance to--

A dozen thoughts swirled in his mind, making him stop to catch his breath before speaking. "A year _is_ a long time, wench." he stated, keeping his tone cold. "And if you don't remember, you chose your duty over me that time."

"Do you think I had a choice back then?" she shook her head again. "You did nothing to stop me, either."

"Nothing I would have said would have stopped you, maggot."

"But you didn't even try!"

"There was no point in it!" he hissed. "There's no difference then as opposed to now!"

It was true. They were both born in rival countries, and although they were at a truce, they functioned independent of each other more often than not. Nel went silent for a moment, as if realizing this as well. Nothing had changed. Other than time. Just time.

"Now, wench, if you're done talking--"

"Am I supposed to take that as a yes?"

Albel blinked a few times as her gaze shifted to his, her eyes blazing in obvious annoyance. "Yes to what, worm?"

"Oh!" she shot out, her expression suddenly dropping all signs of anger. She slumped back a little, lowering her gaze and looking defeated. "Oh! Nevermind. I understand. I don't even know why I bother with you sometimes."

Actually, the man didn't really know why either. He shook his head, allowing his voice a tinge of warmth when he spoke. "What are you talking about now, wench?"

"Just nevermind." the redhead had buried her face in her hands now and was looking, well, miserable. "This is so embarrassing."

Albel's well built resolve was beginning to break. With a sigh, he took a seat next to the woman, using one hand to move hers from her face. "Speak up."

Her only response was a slow shake of the head, and he realized that she was blushing faintly, her face close to the shade of her hair. Blasted scum. Why did she have to be so beautiful? He was tempted-- very tempted-- to brush aside a stray strand of hair from her face but he kept his hand to himself.

"What's wrong?" he tried, his voice little more than a soft whisper. It was hard to keep a harsh tone in such a quiet voice, and he found he lost the edge to his speech for the moment. If she had noticed, she didn't let on.

"..there's plenty wrong." she finally muttered, shutting her eyes. To his surprise, when she reopened them, he thought he could see a trace of sadness in the emerald orbs.

Oh goodness, please don't let her cry. Out of all things, not that...!

Lucky for him, though, she wasn't the type to do so. Not so easily at least. Her voice was trembling, signifying enough emotion as is without having to even look at her face. "I love you, Albel." she said quietly. "I know we haven't seen each other for a year. I know that we still have our duties and our lands that we need to account for." she paused, her gaze lowering. "And I know that you don't care for me in that way anymore. I'm sorry."

The words were so plain but they sent a faint throb through his whole entirety. A half of him wanted so desperately to deny this-- he still loved her. He would give up his soul for her-- but the other half of him shut the whole concept out. Not again. He wasn't going to give in again.

He didn't want to get hurt again. He just didn't want to--

---

Emerald eyes met with crimson and Nel felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the tinge of warmth come across the man's face for a moment before he seemed to clamp down, reverting to the mask of cool that he wore prior. "Get some sleep, maggot." he stated, his voice cold and commanding.

The words made her freeze for a moment. It was as if she had just been stricken with an ice block. She could have sworn her heart stopped for a moment as well, and when she recovered, she felt rather horrible. For the first time in years, she felt warm tears threatening to spill from the corner of her eye and she immediately glanced aside, wiping one aside hastily. Nel Zelpher did not cry. She did not cry when she had heard about what had happened to her father. She did not cry when she her people were slaughtered by Airyglyph soldiers. She did not cry when her subordinates had gone off on a mission thinking that it was riding to their deaths.

And she refused to cry over a man. Especially one as apparently heartless as the one in front of her. True, she had allowed her duty to come before her relationship, but that wasn't something only she had done. He had done the same. Placing the blame on her-- that was just cruel. She supposed she couldn't expect much better from Albel the Wicked, though. She cursed herself inwardly for not having enough self-restraint to keep her thoughts to herself.

And her tears to herself at this rate.

She needed out. And fast.

Swiftly, she jumped up, turning and heading toward the door without another word. He made no attempt to stop her, and she shook her head to herself. Truth be told, she would have no idea what to do if he had said that he still cared for her, but it would have at least made her feel better than how she was feeling now. The morning was going to be utter hell. She was sure of it.

---

Albel watched her as she rushed out of the room, not quickly enough for him not to have spotted the beginnings of tears forming on the redhead's face. He at first refused to believe that the strong woman that he had known would actually shed tears, and then turned on himself for allowing it to happen. His words had slipped, and he had no idea what to do with himself. Letting her run off was probably not a good idea, but he knew well enough that all should be well in the morning. The woman wouldn't back away from a mission. If she did, there would be something most terribly wrong. At first he debated about going into her room to apologize, but then figured that wasn't such a good idea. First of all, Albel wasn't very good with apologies, and second, he'd probably only end up making the woman feel worse. He put a hand to his forehead. Any prospect of getting rest was slowly fading. He didn't want to hurt her, on the contrary he was willing to make sure she was safe, but he hadn't been able to prevent himself from doing so.

Nel would be happier without him, he decided, which was the only idea that allowed him enough peace to rest in a dreamless sleep.

When morning came, the man was dreading his encounter with the redhead so much that he allowed it to become noon before going to visit her. To his surprise, she seemed as if she was still resting, and when he opened the door to her room, his thoughts were confirmed. Nel was sleeping soundly in her bed, a small smile placed upon her lips. She must be dreaming, he figured, and he frowned a bit. He owed her enough to let her dream for a little longer. She seemed happy enough anyway. Waking her up wasn't going to make her feel any better.

He recalled the previous night and cursed himself inwardly. If he had only admitted how he had felt to her... this time it might have worked out. He had been too stubborn though, and not only was it hurting him, it obviously hurt her.

Quietly, he approached her, admiring her sleeping form. She had fallen asleep in her normal clothes, he noted, and figured she had woken up early and then fallen back asleep when he had not called upon her for some time. Breathing a slow sigh, he leaned over, adjusting the covers around the woman.

Albel shook his head. He had been the one wanting to leave early before and now he was letting his temporary companion extra time to sleep? Bah. As if they had time to be slacking. He waited for a slightly moment, then lifted a hand to the woman's cheek. "Nel." he stated, waiting for her to stir. "It's time to wake up."

Her eyes flitted open and her gaze lingered on him for a moment before seeming to notice the hand on her cheek. She slapped it aside, to his surprise, and sat up, putting both hands to her hips. "Well, you let me sleep in for an awful long time, didn't you Nox. Or did you sleep in too for once?"

Her tone was harsh, but he couldn't blame her. Apparently he had mistakenly broken her heart anyway. Not that it was only hurting her. It was hurting him just the same-- just that he wouldn't admit to it. He wouldn't dare show it either. It also hurt now how he had noticed how the woman had not shown a single smile through the entire few days they had been together. Plenty of frowns, but not a smile. Only in her sleep. And not directed to him.

Albel was beginning to feel his hatred for himself enlarge ten-fold. If he could press rewind on his life story, he would have gladly done it. For now, it was useless to fix what he had messed up.

"Hmph." he stated. "Now that you're up, we're leaving, maggot."

"Alright."

Her expression was indifferent, and for a split second Albel wondered if the previous night had been just his imagination. The woman in front of him was as calm and professional as she was toward the others now, her expression masked almost as well as his own. Her tone betrayed no malice, although he clearly sensed it from her aura.

There was no way such a woman could harvest any sort of feeling toward him, right? Maybe she had managed to kill them off during her sleep. The thought irked him. If that was the case, he needed to do the same. Albel glowered toward one of the men in Peterny as he caught one of his random blurbs about Lady Nel. This random man seemed always to be talking about either Lady Nel or Lady Clair. Clair, he didn't mind, but Nel was not someone Albel was planning on allowing most everyone to talk about. She was his-- or was at some point. At the moment, any prospects of this being truth in the present was fading rapidly.

The man watched as Nel examined the areas around the ruins quickly and professionally. She was the one who pushed aside the blocks to get through the ruins, and she was also making it a point to finish off any of the encounters they went through. Albel frowned a bit, noticing that the woman's arm was bleeding slightly, but she seemed not to care, instead taking her time to investigate. He knew that he should be doing the same, and he kept his gaze wandering as much as possible and alert for anything new.

It was when they reached the end of the ruins that they saw the teleporter. It was a a portal similar to the one they had used to go from the eternal sphere in Gemity to Aire Hills. It also looked active, glowing a faint blue in color. Nel stepped up toward it, her gaze shifting to look toward him for a moment. "Let me test it." she stated. "If I don't come back in a few minutes--"

"No."

He grabbed her by the shoulder before she could step in.

"You're not going alone."

Dull emerald eyes lifted to look toward his, calculating. He frowned inwardly. The spark he was so used to wasn't present, and it dug into his consciousness. What was wrong with her?

"What if it's a trap?" she shook her head. "It might not even be a teleporter. We shouldn't take chances. If one of us gets trapped into another dimension, at least the other will be able to--"

"Listen to me, wench! I'm not letting you go alone." Albel kept his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stay still.

"What? Do you want to go instead?" Nel rolled her eyes. "Albel, we both know that it would be safer if I went ahead instead. If there is civilization on the other side of the teleporter, then I can talk to them. You might kill them, and that won't help us at all."

Good point. He rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he'd kill them right off the bat anyway. Only if they annoyed him enough.

Nel reached up to swat his hand away but he squeezed her sharply enough not to bother.

"Albel." she stated, her tone half a command and half a plea.

"I'll go with you, maggot."

The redhead looked irritated. "But what if--"

"If it's a trap, it would be easier to get out with two people. If it's somewhere new, it would be easier explored with two people. If it's a device used to trick people to their deaths, so be it. In that case, I'll die with you. Besides, it's ridiculous to allow one of us to go on without some sort of communicating device."

---

So the man could think when he put his mind to it. Nel frowned a bit but nodded. At the very least it would make her feel a _little_ better to have someone come along with her. Even if it was Albel Nox, who was causing her way too many more problems than he was worth. The man released her shoulder for a moment and she was just about to step away when he shifted, wrapping one arm around her and bringing her to himself. She couldn't help but feel a flash of anger, considering that he knew how she felt toward him and yet he could still do such a thing. She figured that it was the only way to get on the teleporter at the same time, though, and so forgave him this time, allowing him to hold onto her. Instinctively she placed her arm around his form, taking care not to allow any mistaken show of feeling to get in the way. Warily, she shut her eyes, allowing him to guide her to the portal. There was a long silence, and once, she considered that they had indeed passed away. The only reason she knew that wasn't the truth was because she could hear the faint sound of his heartbeat. Once, she thought he gave her a quick squeeze to reassure her, but she wasn't sure. She dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. His tone was enough confirmation.

"...we're here, fool." he finally spoke.

"Here?" she tried, slowly opening her eyes. She gasped; the light was much brighter there than any other place she had been in. "W..where are we?" she attempted, allowing him to move aside as she glanced around in awe.

The woman gasped again when a girl ran by, wearing clothing that reminded her faintly of Sophia's. She had an odd looking bag on her back, held up with two straps. If she remembered correctly, Fayt explained that it was a backpack. It kind of looked silly, she had to admit.

He shrugged. "Not on Elicoor anymore." he muttered, his eyes on the girl who had rushed off. She was entering a large building of sorts with a huge machine that looked like a clock centered at the top middle.

"I could figure that myself." she commented, forcing herself not to tear away when he moved over and grabbed her arm.

"Stay close, fool." he stated, "I don't need to waste time looking for you if you run off."

Nel grumbled to herself. It might be a good idea to run off actually. Not that he was making anything easier by being around. She knew that the two would most obviously stand out wherever it was that they had arrived at-- and she wished to Apris that he would let go of her. Didn't he figure that his touch was still enough to send chills up her spine and warmth to her cheeks? Apparently not. Either that or he just didn't care. When she glanced toward him, he wasn't looking toward her but was instead looking behind her, his expression marking slight confusion. "....Fayt?" he grunted, obviously not liking the sound of the name coming from his own mouth.

"Fayt?" she echoed, turning around. Sure enough, a few paces away, the young man was wandering alongside a girl with long brown hair. He was holding onto a pile of books and looked more than uncomfortable. When the girl turned, the two Elicoorians could tell that it was indeed Sophia Esteed, her hair pinned up in a swan's fashion. Her already large eyes seemed to go wider and she immediately started to tug on her friend's sleeve.

Nel put a hand to her forehead as she watched all the books fall from Fayt's arms. He shook his head sheepishly, then raised his gaze toward the direction that Sophia was apparently gesturing to, and suddenly the two were both a few feet from the Elicoorians, the brunette's arms flailing about in surprise. The books were left in a pile behind them. Fayt was the one who spoke first. "Nel! Albel! What are you doing here?"

"More as what are _you two_ doing here?" Nel questioned, taking a glance at the two. Sophia hadn't changed a bit, and she was wearing her school girl uniform. Fayt also looked similar to how he had been before, though he had grown out his hair just long enough to have a small ponytail behind himself. He was wearing some sort of uniform as well, and he looked slightly more mature than he had been a year back.

"What do you mean by that?" Sophia asked, letting out a giggle. "This is Earth! We live here."

"Earth..?" Nel Zelpher paused, glancing around the area. So this was where they had originally come from. It looked nothing like Elicoor, she had to admit. The sky even seemed artificial. When she noticed Albel had released her, she moved over to exchange hugs with both of the humans. "We came here by..transporter." she said, trying to recall the wording. "It was our mission to investigate it." 


	4. Part 4

**Part 4**

Albel growled slightly as he watched the redhead exchange hugs with the two. The first thought that had come to mind was something like - Don'ttouchhershe'smine -- which got garbled with - butIdidn'tclaimherwhenIhadthechance -- and left him simply scowling. Out of all places in the universe, he had to admit he had never imagined that he would see this... Earth.

The next thing he knew, the two were dragging Nel away toward the direction of their house, and he followed, his expression still irritated. Somehow they had managed to drag the large stack of books at the same time. Even their house was more high-tech than theirs, the rooms somewhat similar to the Diplo's setup. The two Elicoorians were sat down in what seemed like a living room and before either could complain, Sophia had re-entered with a large measuring tape. Normally Albel would have sliced her head off if she had gotten close, but he was too busy being confused to have thought to do such a thing. When she apparently was done measuring, she rushed off again, leaving Fayt to explain.

"Since you're here for now, you'll need to wear some clothes more native to Earth," he pointed out, and Nel nodded. Albel on the other hand, wasn't so thrilled at this concept. His clothes were comfortable as is, and anyone who would say otherwise he wasn't ashamed to kill.

The area went quiet for a moment, and then the woman spoke, shaking her head a few times. "We'll need to find a way to return to Elicoor." she stated. "The transporter disappeared when we arrived here."

"I can explain that." a familiar voice echoed, and both of the Elicoorians turned to spot Maria Traydor walking in from one of the other rooms. Her clothing had changed to casual clothes, nothing like Sophia's uniform but also nothing like the clothes she had in Quark. She shot the two a haughty smile and Albel noted she still flipped her hair. Ugh. Arrogant wench. "I got a message from Cliff and Mirage a short while ago. Cliff thought it was a good idea to have us take a get-together of sorts since we haven't seen each other for a year." she rolled her eyes. "So he was sending Mirage off to set up portals whereever she could. They weren't able to contact you two, but they were able to contact the royalty-- the king of Airyglyph and the queen of Aquaria. They weren't really sure if the portal was even going to work. Apparently," she gestured toward the two, "It did."

"So how are we supposed to get back?"

"Cliff and Mirage will take care of that."

Albel took a glance toward Fayt, who looked surprisingly excited. Did he miss the oaf by some chance? Albel did not. Actually, he cared little for a reunion. This would mean the mission was-- well-- rigged. If Arzei and Romeria both knew why this was-- then obviously they had sent both Nel and Albel for a reason. Bah. Scheming little...

"Say," Nel spoke again, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Why are you here, Maria? I thought you would be elsewhere."

Maria shook her head. "I'm done with Quark. Earth is my home, and I have to make sure that these two don't do anything funny." she added in, glancing toward Fayt and the area where Sophia had been prior. "Cliff wouldn't be too happy if he knew about it."

A faint smile appeared on her face. Slowly, the question was asked. "What about Lieber?"

"Me? What about me?" Lieber blurted out, stepping out from behind Maria. His expression was as goofy as ever and his hair was a mess. Maria took a cautious step to the side, raising her leg just enough to kick him in the knee. "Ow!"

"Oh, sorry, Lieber." Maria stated, her voice dry. "I didn't see you there."

As the two began to "chat," Fayt explained, "Lieber wouldn't let go of Maria after he confessed to her on the Diplo. She said she owed him one or something so she's letting him live with us, but otherwise things seem the same as always."

So in other words Lieber was still around so Maria could boss him around. Made sense. Sophia burst into the door soon enough, carrying two boxes, and before Albel knew what was happening, he was thrust into a room with one of the boxes with an order to "Get changed! Heehee."

The man opened the box, frowning a bit at the odd fashion. He would much prefer just slaughtering those who commented on his style, but in order to save trouble, he figured to do as he was told.

---

Nel was happy that Sophia had been courteous not to have gotten her a school uniform. The girlish skirt would have been a little too much for her. She got something casual, a turtleneck sweater and long pants, and she wrapped her scarf around herself. She didn't feel too comfortable with leaving her daggers behind, though, so she left them snapped on, hoping no one would take them away. When she returned, she noticed the group was busily admiring Albel, who had gotten changed into something apparently more normal. Which meant just a long white shirt and pants, but if it was someone who could pull that off in style, it was him.

Albel didn't look so pleased. "Hmph."

She smiled faintly to herself, finding herself humored with his obvious discomfort. To think that a man would be more used to wearing a skirt than pants was something those on Earth would probably not understand. She cleared her throat to try and get the others' attention, and they turned toward her. "So," she said, "When exactly is this 'get-together'?"

"Probably whenever Cliff gets here," Sophia pointed out, shrugging.

"Depends on his mood.... and if his hunches get ahead of himself," Maria added in, and both girls shook their heads in mock irritation. "It shouldn't be too long. I'll message them."

Maria exited the room, which meant Lieber trailed out with her. Nel wasn't too overjoyed to see Lieber around, but as usual made no move to bother anyone else with this thought. Sophia was starting to eagerly start a chat with Fayt, who looked toward the two Elicoorians with a worried glance. She figured he was thinking he wasn't showing enough hospitality toward the two and she gave him a quick smile to reassure him. She shifted her gaze toward Albel, who was now standing and looking outside of a window. Frowning, she stepped over toward him. They had a lovely view, she admitted, and most of the city could be seen where they were.

There were homes of all different shapes and sizes, and later she found out that the larger buildings were places of work and the dome like ones were places to go for entertainment. The smaller places were homes as she had originally thought.

Albel grunted, and she tilted her head, questioning. It took him a while to speak, and she figured he was making sure that the others were too distracted to notice. "That scum." he hissed, "They already knew where the teleporter led."

"Mm." Nel sighed. She would have appreciated a little heads-up herself. If the queen had known, why didn't she send her to the portal herself? And why did she have to hear it from the king's mouth over hers? "I guess it'll be a nice break from working around Arias, though." she added in, her voice quiet.

He didn't respond for a moment, then turned toward her, seeming as irritated as always. He seemed to pause, and she noted that was probably because he hadn't seen her change of clothes as well.

A quick raise of an eyebrow. A glance aside.

"You look comfortable in those clothes, wench." he stated.

She couldn't help but shoot back, "Yes, you do too."

The redhead heard his grumble as she stepped away from him, commenting loudly enough to shake the others from their conversation. "I hate to interrupt, but is there a place that I could put my things? It seems like we'll be here for a little bit."

Fayt and Sophia exchanged glances, and Fayt nodded. "Alright. We have two spare--"

Sophia cut him off, Nel raising an eyebrow when she saw the girl clamp her hand over Fayt's mouth. "I hope you don't mind, but we only have one place for you guys to stay. We have to set up our other one for Cliff and Mirage...and it's still a mess right now anyway."

"Sufiiaamphhhhhhh--"

Nel didn't miss Sophia jabbing her friend in the ribs once before releasing him, an angelic smile appearing on her face. "I know you two shared a place in the Diplo before so it's safe enough to let you stay in a room here right? And don't worry! There's two beds so neither of you have to stay on the floor."

Before Fayt could bring up an alternate solution, Sophia glowered toward him and Maria reentered, yawning. "Seems like according to Mirage's calculations, they should be here late tomorrow evening. Sophia.... you might want to start working on... 'cleaning the guest room.'"

The two exchanged glances, and Nel raised an eyebrow. Something was definitely amiss here. And sharing a room with Albel was not something she really wanted to do now after their night in Peterny. The redhead glanced toward Albel, then pursed her lips together before she spoke, keeping her voice high in spirits. "It's alright, really. I can stay on a couch or something. I don't think that Albel wants me in the same room."

Albel rolled his eyes. Maria blinked. Fayt blinked. Sophia frowned. Lieber-- oh who cares about him.

"But you didn't have a problem with him last year on the Diplo," Sophia said, pouting.

"There's a difference between a year and now, scum," Albel finally hissed. "And if you didn't realize, we didn't have a choice. That had to do with our mission."

"Doesn't this too?"

"A mission to save the world is different from a mission to come here to have a reunion," Nel pointed out.

She was right, kind of. But it _was_ apparently a mission, and however silly it may seem, Nel knew that she was going to be outnumbered. Both of the other girls seemed firmly set on keeping the two in their own quarters. She sighed. Probably to keep Albel out of any trouble he might cause. Fayt would be the only one else who could suppress him, and well, Sophia was probably the kind who was scared to sleep on her own. She probably needed to cuddle her Fayt to be able to get any rest.

Nel sighed again. At least the girl _had_ someone to cuddle. Not like Nel Zelpher needed a teddy bear of sorts. She had a feeling that she would be getting little to no rest at all if she was to share a room with Albel yet again. He'll get plenty of sleep, lucky him. She'd just end up pondering the whole night through. She didn't look forward to this in the least. Maybe if she--

"Actually," she said, standing up and shaking her head. "I'm kind of tired right now. I hope you don't mind if I take a nap."

"Oh, sure, go ahead! Here, I'll show you to your room." Sophia was instantly up, grabbing her arm and leading her aside.

Once the two were together, Sophia grinned, and Nel had a bad feeling about it all. "Don't worry! I've seen how he looks at you. You two are such a cute couple."

What?!

Nel felt her face burn slightly. "W--wait, don't be mistaken. We just came here together because we both got assigned a mission to--"

"Well, here we are!" the brunette exclaimed, obviously not listening to a word that Nel had said. "Sorry it's kind of messy."

The room was rather spacious, which made Nel feel relieved and indeed it had two beds across from each other. They were large beds, with frilly sheets that made the woman chuckle a bit. Albel sleeping in a bed with frilly pink sheets-- it would be something to behold. The only thing "messy" she could find in the room were a stack of papers on the single desk.

The woman waited for Sophia to excuse herself before she took a seat on one of the beds. Another sigh escaped from her lips. To think that this supposedly important mission was just a scheme to get the two to see the others. It wasn't that she minded, of course. It was just that she had been all tensed up for no reason. Maybe the two rulers just hadn't wanted their people to slack off. Come to think of it, Romeria _had_ seemed a little more cheery than she usually was when she was giving out her missions. Nel frowned. She should have figured. Why else would it be somewhere that no one other than they had visited? She was just glad it hadn't been in Mosel. She had more than enough of the place already.

The woman almost jumped when Sophia reentered, handing her a stack of towels, a bathrobe, and something that looked like pajamas. Nel blinked a few times, allowing Sophia to show her to the shower and how to work the machinery. It was nothing like how it was in Elicoor. Now she was starting to understand how Fayt had felt when he had first gotten to Elicoor. It was so technologically underdeveloped.

After what seemed like ages of getting prepared, she finally plopped down on her bed, staring up toward the ceiling. Maybe if she fell asleep _before_ the man appeared, she would be able to get some sleep. She could hear the faint sound of rushing water and decided that someone else must be getting ready for sleep as well. Whoever it was was taking a LONG time in the shower. Must be a girl. She shook her head. Or Albel.

If that was the case, she'd need to sleep soon. Stifling a yawn, she crawled under the covers, putting her head down on the pillow. Since she had Earthling clothes, she was going to make sure she had a chance to look around this city before she had to go back to Elicoor, that was for sure.

Nel woke as soon as she heard the door open, and with a lazy glance she noted that Albel was taking a seat on the opposite bed. His expression turned into irritation, and she smiled to herself, knowing it was the frilly pink that was getting to him. Obviously, this room was set up for girls.

"You don't like it?" she commented quietly, unable to hide the mirth in her voice. "I think it's cute."

"Bah." he muttered.

He was looking down toward the annoying covers, and finally ended up flinging them off. "So you'd rather freeze than stay in pink sheets. Hm. I'll keep that in mind."

"Shut up, wench."

She shook her head. "You shouldn't do that. You might catch a cold." she surprised herself with the sincerity of the comment, and she hid her face, frowning. Just because he wasn't nice to her didn't mean that she wanted him to get ill. He seemed to consider this, then scoffed.

"I don't get sick, maggot."

"Is that so. Don't come crying to me when you catch a cold then. I warned you."

"Bah."

Nel allowed for him to lay without the covers for some time, but when she heard the heating device flicker off for the night, she grumbled and sat up, going to retrieve the sheets that he had stubbornly thrown off. When she threw one back onto him, he grunted. She stopped him from pushing them aside again. "Albel Nox." she stated, her voice crisp. "Just keep them on you, alright? If you're so intent on not having _pink,_ I'll ask one of the others for some other color of your _preference._" In the darkened room, she only caught a slight bit of his expression. The glint of his eyes seemed somewhat dangerous and she kept herself on guard.

"Do what you want, wench."

She saw him roll over, purposely away from her. Annoyed, she simply threw the remaining sheet back at him, going back to her bed. "I don't mind if you freeze to death." she stated, her voice not as strong as her words.

---

Albel glowered toward the covers, tempted to pitch them across the room in lieu of what he had done before. He resisted the urge to do that and also to rip out these...frilly laces at the top and settled with looking utterly irritated. Ah, he wasn't _that_ cold...

Okay, so it was getting cold. He would just have to request something different the next day. Unless that Esteed scum wanted her sheets to be massacred of course.

Stupid pink.

Stupid frills that tickled his nose.

Stupid wench that was trying to sleep across from him.

He felt a need to say something about the previous night at Peterny, but he wasn't exactly sure what.

"Worm."

No response. Was she asleep?

"Scum."

Ditto.

Taking a deep, irritated breath, he spoke again. "Nel?"

"Yes?"

She had been waiting for that. He scowled to himself, then continued. "About yesterday....."

He paused, his mind blanking. About yesterday...what? She seemed not like she was planning on giving him anything to go off of, either. He stayed silent for some time before she finally spoke up. "Don't worry about it, Nox. I'm not planning on letting you hurt my feelings more than you already have." her voice was as crisp as her words, and he instinctively winced, glad it was too dark for her to see. "I don't even know why I brought it up. The year ago was just whim anyway. I'm sure you've had your share of women--"

"Ah, nevermind. Go to sleep, worm." he cut her off, feeling a faint feeling of disgust well up in himself. Of course he hadn't been with any other woman-- how _could_ he when the only one he could think of was--

"..............."

He heard her shift, sitting up apparently. Her response was clear.

"No."

No? He scowled. Fine. She could stay awake for all he cared. It wasn't that their supposed mission would involve them needing high amounts of guard anyway, if it was just a get-together with the maggots from before. He wished that he hadn't been assigned onto the mission. It was all that stupid Fitter oaf's fault that they had to gather anyway.

Well, Nel could stay up all she wanted, but he was tired. He wasn't about to let her keep him up more. Or so he thought, until he saw her walk over to the window. Faint glow of moonlight touched her form, and she was wearing the pajamas that Sophia had given her. He could tell they were made of thin material as they blossomed toward the edges every time she moved. She put one hand to the window, her face turned away from him. Her hair was slightly messy, and as if she had noticed, she ran her hand through it, adjusting a few tangles along the way. "_You're_ going to get sick." he commented. It was cold enough for him, and he was used to Airyglyph's winters and he was also under one of the blasted pink sheets.

"Mm." was her only response. Apparently, she was looking toward the moon, and he could faintly see her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were raised, dull and almost wistful. What the heck was the maggot thinking? Surely she wasn't trying to get sick on purpose. She could have dragged one of the stupid sheets with her. Or worn her bathrobe that was sprawled on the chair nearby. The woman shivered a bit, but instead of going to grab her coat, she tugged open the window instead. A blast of cold air entered and the papers from the desk scattered, falling all over the floor. Nel glanced toward them, finally wrapping her arms around herself and frowning. Albel cared little about these fallen papers, but knowing that if they left a mess in the morning it would cause havoc for the Esteed wench.

With a resigned sigh, he got off of the bed. "Shut the window, maggot."

She did so, slowly, her gaze casted downward toward the fallen papers. She began to pick them up, her movements agonizingly slow. He watched her quietly for some time, then frowned, grabbing the bathrobe from the chair. When she leaned down, he moved behind her, wrapping the article around her form. She immediately tensed, spinning around to face him.

"If you catch a cold we'll be stuck here longer than if you didn't." he stated, moving forward to adjust the robe in front. He looked down toward the papers. "....I'll take care of this."

Nel shook her head. "It was my fault. You can get some sleep. I'm not tired anyway."

A lie. He could sense exhaustion in her form without having to go near her. Not only was she exhausted but she was freezing. And she was stubborn as all heck. Albel watched as she moved aside, picking up the bulk of the papers on her own as he shifted to help. When she was done, she looked toward him, an accusing expression crossing her face.

"What do you want, Nox? You wouldn't help just because you're a gentleman."

Was that a sneer he caught on her face?

"Obviously because you're definitely not one."

Bah. See if he thought to help her do anything again. He folded his arms, taking a seat back on his bed. "Don't freeze yourself to death, worm." he stated.

This set her off, to his faint surprise. "Since when do you care what happens to me, Albel?! It's only because it's a mission, isn't it? If we weren't assigned this same..'mission'.. then you would have had no problems at all leaving me out in the cold. You would have left me poisoned too, no doubt!" she shook her head. "I'm done. Here. If you want to make me leave, then I will!"

Albel blinked a few times. Him? Make _her_ leave? Didn't it seem like she was doing that exact thing to him? He cursed himself for not making things clear the day before. It would be harder now. He had been faced with a choice last time-- now or never. Although then he had chosen never, he was debating on if it was alright to choose now.

"You're not going anywhere, wench." he stated, his voice not coming across as harsh as he had intended. He paused, narrowing his eyes for full effect. "We stayed together a year ago because you didn't want the others to get suspicious about how we were getting along. It's the same as back then. .....the...maggot, Fayt, would get worried if we weren't 'getting along.'"

Ugh. That was enough speaking formally for him, he had to admit. He stumbled toward the end. Nel didn't seem too impressed. "And so you're trying to compare now with a year ago? If you don't recall..a year ago we were in love. An odd sort of..love.. but you let me know. Now, things aren't the same. We're back to being like strangers, Albel."

"Strangers!" he exclaimed. Bah! How foolish. He supposed the wench had no other way of putting it.

"If we're not, then what are we? Comrades? Friends? You sure don't act it, Nox!"

Maybe now was _not_ a good choice. Albel could still back down if he wanted to. And wanted to, he most definitely did. Instead, he growled. "What do you expect, wench? You know me. I'm not able to show emotion like you maggots can."

What he wanted to say was that he was still human, though, and it wasn't that he didn't feel. He just couldn't _convey._ The words wouldn't come out, and he ran his hand down the Crimson Scourge for some reassurance. He had still kept the sword as Nel had kept her father's daggers.

If she had responded, he didn't hear her. Instead, she wandered to her bed, slumping down as she had in Peterny. Slowly, she spoke again. "I don't _enjoy_ fighting with you, Albel," she stated, "But I guess it's the only way you communicate now. What happened in that year that we were apart..?"

It was a rhetorical question. He knew she wasn't expecting a response, and he was not going to respond. Images of the year before spun in his mind, mixed in with his duel with Romero and a few others as the year went on. Yes, the year had given him plenty of other obstacles to face, and he had dismissed any thought of romance months ago. Though the thought had been rekindled more than a few times when the mention of the woman's name had been brought up, he had assumed it was just a faraway fantasy. Once he had had the chance to possibly obtain it, he had been unable to speak up. And now he was unable to fix his error. Nel was desperately trying to pull any emotional attachment away from the man, and she seemed to be doing a good job of it. He was simply at a loss.

Albel finally spoke, his gaze lowered. "A year is a long time." He saw her form tense, but before she could speak up again, he continued. "That doesn't mean it was long enough to make me forget you, woman."

Nel's gaze shot up toward his, and what he could see of her expression was confusion. "..what?"

He was quiet for a long time, trying to think of what to say. His mind drew a blank. "...it's just hard for me to say how I feel, that's all."

It was her turn to be quiet. If she hadn't stayed sitting upright, he would have considered her asleep. "..Albel." she finally commented. "I can't read your mind."

"I _know_ that, wench!" he put his hand to his forehead. Quieter, this time. "I know..."

He didn't even know if he could read his own mind at the moment. Again, he was at a loss. He wondered how the other men of the group would have handled it, then sighed. Anything that Cliff would have done would instantly meant death in the face of any woman (especially a certain other Klausian) and anything Fayt would say was nothing that Albel would be caught mimicking if his life depended on it. He had too much pride for that. More than likely the others had a better chance at seizing their chances when they had them though.

The man stood quietly, somewhat relieved when the woman didn't move aside when he took a seat beside her. The various nights in Peterny played in his mind and he shrugged them off. He considered bringing her to his form, then shook that aside as well. Since when did Albel Nox crave so much intimacy anyway?

Nel simply kept her eyes on his form, her straight gaze almost unnerving. She suddenly shivered, and he recalled the chill in the room. Right as soon as he did, he felt the cold settle in himself as well and he glanced toward the...pink...frilly...sheets. (Couldn't the scum have better taste?! Argh!) With a sigh, he leaned over to pull one up, wrapping it around the woman. She made no move to stop him, nor made any move to help him either. He moved aside to check his handiwork, then folded his arms. "If you're not going to sleep, at least keep yourself warm."

"You're not cold yourself?" she asked, sounding slightly humored. He scoffed.

"I'm used to it." he stated plainly.

Actually, he was freezing. But stubbornness overrides cold. He _was_ used to Airyglyph cold, but this cold wasn't such like it. It wasn't snowing though, so he decided that it was most definitely a queer planet that they had gotten themselves into. Nel was adjusting the sheet around herself, wrapping it and lowering her gaze. They sat quietly for some time as he wondered what to say. 


	5. Part 5

**Part 5**

Nel watched him from the corner of her eye, keeping a frown from her face as much as she could. His previous words made no sense to her. Did he mean that he still cared? Did he look it?

She snuck a glance at him carefully, then shook her head. He looked as emotionless as always when he was thinking, and the only emotion he was very quick at showing was his anger. Since he failed to be angry, he failed to show anything. "Aren't you going to sleep?" she tried, shifting her glance away. The room was cold, and she felt somewhat glad that he had given her the sheets. What they really needed was a big blanket.

She felt him move beside her and she thought he was going to stand when she felt his right hand touch her shoulder. She turned. Emerald met crimson yet again. Instinctively, she started to raise her hand up to push his away but before she could, she felt him tug her forward.

The woman sighed to herself when she found herself back in the man's arms. So he wasn't planning on saying anything again, she decided. Whenever this happened, he said nothing or very little. And he usually ended up getting more distant after the event. When she felt his form shudder a bit, she cracked a faint smile. So the man _was_ cold. And apparently wasn't fond of pink.

"Planning on explaining, Nox?"

His response was a grunt of acknowledgment. She lifted her face from his chest, taking a moment to glance up toward him. Albel seemed distracted, his own gaze scanning the room in silence. When she lifted her hand to his cheek, he flinched, shifting to look toward her. "............." Slowly, he pulled the hand away from him with his. Nel watched as his expression suddenly turned into a sneer. "You said you love me, wench?"

The sneer grated on her nerves, but she figured it wouldn't be worth bothering to dodge the question. "Yes." she stated. She carefully kept her eyes on his, monitoring his expression.

It reverted to nothingness. She knew that it was the question that had caused him to shift. If he had seemed sincere and she had said no, that would have shown weakness. It was a point of protection for the man's pride. "...why?"

Nel blinked a few times, barely catching the question as she felt him move her forward, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. She shook her head, putting one arm around his body for comfort's sake. "I don't know." she responded simply. It was the truth. Some time during their travels she had fallen for him, and when and why was not something that was really worth considering. What was important was that she did, and unless something were to go terribly wrong, she would continue to. Like it or not.

"Ah."

"How about you, Albel?" she asked, lifting her gaze toward him.

His response was simply a quick kiss on the forehead. The woman smiled faintly, though hiding her expression from him.

"Why didn't you say anything in Peterny?"

His response was simple. "I wasn't ready, maggot."

So he had gotten ready in the day it took to arrive at Earth? She raised an eyebrow, but thought not to question it. "Hm."

The man trailed his lips down from her forehead to her cheek, and he moved over a bit to look toward her-- almost if asking permission. Nel simply gave him a nod, tilting her head up enough to grant him access to her lips. They exchanged a quick kiss and he paused for a second before bringing her in for one more, pressing into it and almost forcing every bit of his heart into her at once. She pulled away after a moment, trying to catch her breath.

Maybe he couldn't _tell_ her how he felt, but boy was he good at showing it.

The woman pushed him away. "It's late," she pointed out. "Let's get some sleep."

"I thought you weren't sleeping, wench."

She shrugged. "I know I need it. You do too."

When he made no move to budge, she leaned over, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Go on."

Albel finally stood, speaking only when he had settled back across from her. "It won't work out, worm."

"Of course it will." she said, shaking her head. She had her doubts as well, knowing that Arias was still in construction stage and each of them were still held to their spots in their respective countries. "If that wasn't the case we wouldn't still feel anything for each other after our year apart, would we?"

"Bah."

The response seemed affirmative. The two needed to sleep before thinking of anything more drastic, that was for one. When morning came, Nel was only somewhat surprised to see that the other bed was unoccupied. It was also replaced with sheets which lacked the pink and the frills. She shook her head as she lifted herself off of the bed.

Once Nel had gotten dressed and exited the room, she was immediately greeted by Sophia, who had made something known as pancakes for them to eat. Nel sheepishly poked at the syrup with her fork before trying the food. It tasted little different from Elicoorian food, actually. The other Earthlings were eating together already, but there seemed to be no sign of Albel. Before she could ask, Fayt spoke up. "If you're looking for Albel, he went outside."

The redhead simply nodded, waiting until she was done eating before excusing herself. She had wanted to go and take a look around anyway. Just when she stepped out of the door, Albel seemed to be returning, his expression neutral. "Good morning." she stated and he hmphed his response. Not surprising. The only time that he seemed to want any sort of intimacy was during nighttime anyway. And in sole privacy.

She didn't bother to say any more, leaving the house to look around. To her surprise, she found a trail of schoolgirls looking enviously toward the house, and put a hand to her head. They were probably pining over Albel, she figured, and since he hadn't had his sword handy, he had gotten sick of being fawned over and had left. She felt too humored to be jealous.

Earth seemed secure and yet completely different to the woman, and she trailed her hand over a television screen in a place that seemed to be some sort of shopping center. It reminded her slightly of Moonbase, though she had only stopped by there for a few minutes when they had entered the Eternal Sphere. The people seemed friendly enough, though a few times she thought some of them looked at her oddly. Barely any beings other than humans were around, spare for a single Seraph being she saw, who was tending its wing. She exchanged a few words with the foreigner, then went on her way. The sun was setting around when the redhead returned to the house, and Maria was rolling her eyes when she entered the room. "Cliff and his hunches." she commented.

"What's this about his hunches now?" Nel asked, lifting her eyebrow. The others were gathered in the living room, and Sophia shook her head.

"It seems like Cliff's gotten himself in trouble so he'll be delayed. He said he promised he'd be back here by tonight though."

"He has three hours," Maria was grumbling. "After that I'm going to sleep."

"This early?" Lieber whined, and Nel didn't see what hit him but something did, and he yelped.

"Sorry, Lieber."

Nel shot a glance toward Albel, who was leaning against the doorframe and looking irritable. Fayt had noticed him too and was trying his best to start some small talk, but according to his frustrated looks, he wasn't getting too far. She smiled, starting toward the two.

"So Cliff hasn't changed a bit, it seems?" she interrupted.

Fayt shrugged, turning so he could see her. "I'm not sure. Maria's kept in touch but I haven't seen him much more than you have." a timid smile appeared on his face. "But it seems like it."

"You seem happy about his return."

She caught a flush on his cheeks and shook her head. Not surprising. Albel grumbled a little and she looked toward him, exchanging a glance with Fayt.

BAM.

"Oh, look who's here." Maria stated, her voice dry.

Sure enough, the door was flung open, revealing a tired looking Cliff Fitter with Mirage Koas trailing behind him. Her usual calm expression hadn't changed. "Sorry we're late." she said cheerily. "Cliff took a wrong turn but we were able to fix it by switching in orbit."

The next thing Nel knew, she was getting hugged by the other woman as the two Klausians did their rounds of welcoming. She was most definitely Klausian, Nel figured when she felt the simple movement cause slight pain. She was ready to brace herself from something similar from Cliff when Albel stepped forward, creating enough of a barrier between the blonde man and herself. She didn't know if she should feel grateful, but did anyway. Instead, she spoke around the swordsman. "It's been a while, Cliff."

Cliff was scratching his head sheepishly, seeming to have been done with the other's welcoming. "Yeah."

Nel couldn't help but snicker as Albel was pulled to the side by Sophia, who had gotten bold while surrounded by her friends. Mirage was bowing her head toward the man, who was too busy scowling to say much of any welcoming at all. Cliff took this moment to sneak a whisper. "Since when did that freak Albel stand for reunions?"

Nel shrugged. "It was assigned as a mission for us to investigate the portal you two conveniently told Her Majesty about."

"Ehehehe.... so _that's_ how it went." he glanced to the side. "Uhh, we had uh nothing to uhh, do with that."

"Right." She rolled her eyes and started back over toward Albel, who looked about ready to rip someone apart. Without his sword though, he was much less menacing. She knew he couldn't wait to retrieve it, though Fayt had told him to leave it off when leaving the house. Carefully, she put her hand on the man's arm, causing not only him to tense but all eyes to go toward her.

Albel turned to look at her and she saw Mirage shift her stance slightly-- probably to get in the way if he thought to attack her. "Albel," she stated, "Couldn't you seem a little happier? It _is_ the first time we've all gathered in a year."

"Bah." he snapped, brushing her hand away and stepping aside. The room's tension level went considerably down. The man seemed intent to keep up his facade of their rivalry in front of the others. She supposed it was easier than explaining anything for the time being.

"Well, it seems like none of us has really changed," Mirage commented, sending a small smile toward the others. Her gaze went toward Cliff and then toward Fayt. The blonde man was grinning and patting his friend on the shoulder, and Sophia was pouting a few feet away. So was Maria, though pouting wasn't something that suited her too well. She just looked more annoyed than usual.

"So what are you guys planning for this reunion?" Sophia finally wondered aloud. Cliff glanced toward her, looking sheepish. "Eh? I thought you guys would come up with that."

Nel chuckled to herself. Sure enough, they hadn't changed a bit. Her mind drifted a little as Cliff, Sophia and Mirage began to try and figure out what their plans were. Fayt was watching over them, scratching his head sheepishly and trying to input whenever possible. She knew it would be good to take time off and relax while she could before she returned to Arias. And then Aquaria. And then.....--

She glanced toward Albel, who had a faint smirk on his face. She could tell that although he was showing mostly annoyance he was definitely enjoying the group's company. It probably brought back memories of their adventures.

--And then maybe Airyglyph?

Only if he suggested it, she decided. It would be much better for her if he settled down in Aquaria. Even Kirlsa would be closer to her country than Airyglyph, that was for sure. He _had_ mentioned he was going to help Woltar there soon enough anyway. If she was to be in Arias while he was in Kirlsa-- that would make things much nicer in the long run.

Then again, only if he was planning on committing. She shrugged a little. The night before had only confirmed that he had not lost any feelings toward her, but that did not confirm anything of their future. If they were to have any. It was always somewhat of a mystery what the man was thinking anyway.

"Why not just relax with each other for a few days?" Mirage finally suggested. Everyone seemed rather in agreement with this, even Albel, who shrugged. "I guess I can stand to be around you maggots for a little longer." he stated.

Nel knew he was fascinated with this new world as much as she was and if it was any excuse to stick around and find out a little more about it it was worthwhile. Fayt had stopped with his UP3 talk at the very least, and he had given in for them, since he knew neither were planning on creating advanced technology which might hinder the world of Elicoor as they knew it.

Night came quickly, passed, and came again. Breakfast the second day was spent listening to Cliff's antics during the year. Albel had dismissed himself early again and Nel couldn't help but frown. The group would only be together for one more full day, she knew, since everyone was very busy. It was like a mini-vacation to come to Earth for her and the others. For the time being, it felt almost as if they had barely been apart. They had each spent time speaking about what had happened in the year, minus Albel, who had grunted response when prodded. Fayt and Sophia had returned to their studies, regardless of their role in the universe as they knew it. Ryouko and Sophia's parents had gone on a brief vacation (which would be why they had so many empty rooms for the time being). Cliff had met up with Mirage after she had visited her father, and was still working to improve Quark. Maria had given her position up to live with Fayt and Sophia, but was too busy studying on her own and working with her system to go to class like the other two humans. Nel herself didn't have much to input other than the improvement of Arias, which everyone seemed happy to hear.

That brought her to remember-- whatever had happened to--

"Sorry I was late, guys!"

Adray. Lasbard.

Nel hid her groan as the man entered. A day and a half late to be exact. He _still_ wasn't wearing his shirt. She was starting to forget it was when the last time he _had_ been wearing a shirt. Cliff grinned heartily. "Oh yeah, almost forgot about you. Took you long enough."

"Well, I was finishing up some training with Clair's troop." Adray stated, taking a seat. "It's been a while since I've gotten out of Elicoor. You all look healthy. Hello again, Nel."

Nel attempted a small smile, scooting a little ways from the man. She had kept as far away as possible from him during the rebuilding of Arias, and thankfully Clair had also done her best to save her friend the torture of having to speak with the man. The quiet would be broken now that he was around, that was for sure. Now all they needed was Roger to top off the annoyance. She prayed to Apris that Cliff hadn't thought to invite him.

"Oh, yeah. Remember that runt?" Cliff asked, almost as if reading her mind.

Fayt raised an eyebrow. "Roger?"

"Yeah, him. He said he couldn't make it. Some manly business or something." he shrugged. "And I couldn't contact Peppita. Next time we'll drag her along."

Peppita? Nel didn't know the name. She figured it was someone else they had met during their adventures and she hadn't gotten to see. Her gaze went toward the group. Even Adray seemed to have some knowledge of this Peppita. She decided not to bother to ask. Adray's presence was making her kind of shifty. Excusing herself from the group, she headed to her room, taking a seat on the bed. She knew that she should be just enjoying her small break from her duties, but she couldn't let herself get loose. She took in a deep breath, then let it out.

"Tired already, maggot?"

She didn't have to turn to know who spoke. "No." she said, "I just wanted to think." Albel took a seat beside her and she leaned against him. "That and Adray's back," she mentioned. The man cracked a faint smirk.

"Wasn't he that wench's father?"

"I'd appreciate if you didn't refer to Clair like that." she shrugged. "And yes, he's Clair's biological father. Believe if or not. In my case, I'd rather not."

"Hmph." She knew he didn't particularly care, but it was nice of him to ask at the very least.

The woman let him stroke her hair gently with his normal hand while his claw arm wrapped around her form. She was getting used to the feel of the gauntlet, though it wasn't something she preferred of course. "Albel," she finally tried. When she spoke, he paused, and she brought his hand down to kiss it lightly. "You're not planning on keeping this a secret that much longer, are you?"

To her surprise, he snickered. "You were the one who didn't want to tell anyone a year back, maggot."

She faintly recalled this, and she shook her head. "Our world's safe now." she commented quietly. "Things have changed. I think..it'll be alright."

Nel felt his warm breath upon her neck as he spoke, his voice a faint whisper in her ear. "I'm ready whenever you are."

She nodded, waiting for the claw arm to move aside before she stood up. "Alright." The redhead turned and leaned over a bit, glancing down toward Albel. When she was standing and he sitting, she managed to be tall enough to be able to look down at him, and she smiled faintly, putting both hands on his shoulders. For once, she felt like a giddy child. His right arm slipped behind her, pulling her a few paces to himself before--

The two immediately turned toward the door, hearing a giggle from the other side. Thunk, then a small yelp. Maria's voice. "Lieber!"

Nel sighed, shaking her head. "I guess they already know now." she stated as Albel headed to the door, scowling as he knocked open the door. Lieber, Maria and Sophia were all standing around, Lieber attempting an innocent expression as the other two knew they had been busted.

"I told you so!" Sophia was saying to Maria, who shook her head a few times incredulously.

"I can't believe it." the blue-haired young woman stated matter-of-factly. "Whenever did you two get together?"

Albel was still scowling, his gaze going toward the sword that was resting on the table and Nel sighed, stepping between him and the weaponry. "Actually, not very long ago." she stated sheepishly. Suddenly, she felt a bad feeling creep up in the back of her mind, and she frowned. Her senses were keen, and sure enough Adray Lasbard had barged on in along with the two Klausians, Mirage holding Cliff back as he demanded to know why Albel was in any close proximity to his former rival counterpart.

Sophia was all sparkles. "It's the power of love!" she said, giggling a bit.

Fayt was the last to show up, sighing when he saw the fuss. "Come on guys. If that's the case, shouldn't we let them have a little privacy?"

Cliff seemed to realize something. "Wait a minute, you're letting those two _sleep together_?! That's wrong!"

Mirage poked him. "You didn't find it wrong yesterday, Cliff."

"But that's 'cause, well, uh... you know." he gestured a few times, trying to convey his thoughts.

"If you have to know, Cliff, there's two separate beds in the room. Whether they choose to use them is another issue." Maria inputted.

"Nel, I hope that you're thinking of using protection!" Adray boomed. "What do you think Clair would think if you came back pregnant?"

Nel put a hand to her head. Since when did their romance turn into a one night fling? Or a several night fling. Or anything that involved something so drastic as to sleep together? They weren't married, for goodness sake! She sighed a bit. The starts of a headache was threatening to stall her concentration. To her relief, Albel finally spoke up, his voice harsh. "Just get out of here, maggots." he hissed.

That most definitely summed everything up. And got them to hurry the heck out of there.

---

The group finally got ready to part a day later, each, with the exception of Albel Nox, exchanging a good amount of hugs and pats on the back. Albel grumbled a bit as the three Elicoorians followed Cliff and Mirage to their ship. In actuality, Cliff had decided it would be a good time to stay around Fayt a little longer, but Mirage had coaxed him to help escort the Elicoorians back before he worried about that. That and Fayt would have to convince the remaining parents about the Klausian. _That_ would probably be more trouble than it was worth. Getting Maria and Lieber permission was hard enough.

Nel stepped up to her black-blonde haired companion, who shrugged and slid his arm around her waist, his claw arm resting a few inches from his sword. He looked much happier now that he had been not only granted free access to his weapon but also to his Elicoorian clothing. It seemed to make him feel much more comfortable. Nel, on the other hand, had requested to keep the clothing that Sophia had gotten for her. They were comfortable. The redhead wasn't planning on wearing the Earthling clothes very often, but if she was to stay off of her duties, it would be relaxing to wear them. Sophia had been glad to let her keep it, and she took along Albel's clothing as well just in case some day he would feel up to wearing it. She doubted it, but it would be something to use if they were ever to return to this... Earth, again. And it was a good memento if not.

Cliff had proposed that each year they would hold a nice little reunion of sorts. Once a year wasn't so out of the way, so each agreed, though Nel had to coax Albel to even nod his response. As they both took seats in the ship, Mirage brought them drinks.

"It was nice to see you again." she commented, taking a seat as well.

"I hope you'll come visit us sometimes." Nel said with a nod. They seemed technologically advanced enough to do so at least. With Elicoor's technology, making something that flew in space and flew out of Elicoor was beyond them. It made for less complications in the long run, though, so she didn't particularly mind. "There's always room for you all there." she added in.

Mirage smiled faintly. "We'd love to whenever we get a chance. It's just been that things have been so busy without Fayt and Maria." she looked thoughtful. "Maybe Cliff will convince them to come back." Nel noted that the blonde didn't seem very confident in this thought, but it was worth the mention. If it was for Cliff, Fayt would more than likely comply, the redhead figured. And vice versa. Which would be why Cliff was planning on staying on Earth. Sophia would have to get used to vying for Fayt's attention, that was for sure.

Nel took a moment to glance toward Albel, who was obviously not listening. His gaze was focused to the side, and his expression blank to signal he was deep in thought. Mirage chuckled a bit. "Did you want a moment?"

"O--oh, no, we're fine," the redhead stated. She wanted none of this special treatment.

"Alright." Mirage seemed as if she was going to say something further when Cliff called out for her over the intercom, letting the whole crew know that they were close to their destination point.

"Get ready to land!" Cliff called out.

The other Klausian nodded, immediately returning to her station. "Roger." 


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A week passed, and news of the ex-rival country romance spread enough through Elicoor. Both Romeria and Arzei seemed not at all surprised, and Woltar had chuckled to himself when he heard the rumors. Old age signified his wisdom and he had already predicted this more than a year earlier. It was all just up to time.

Clair was more than overjoyed to see her friend finally decide to settle down, since she had heard enough from Nel herself about the former captain of the Black Brigade. Unfortunately for her, that also mean more pestering from Adray, who was now prodding her with talk about her best-friend's relations and her own. To quote, "If Nel can get settled with a man, so can you!"

To which Clair just shook her head in utter annoyance and shot back a few haughty remarks which did not suit her professional disposition.

---

Albel Nox eyed the stone which marked the passing of his father. It had been set for a decade now, and parts of it were chipping slightly. With a sigh, he moved forward, running one hand down the name etched so many years back. When he was younger, he had hated the graveyards, figuring that it was a waste of space. Too many dead bodies could be found in the world, and if each and every one was marked, well, how were the living to have their own space? He slowly came to understand why there was such an importance, though, and he came to visit his father's grave quite a few times before and after his travels with Fayt Leingod and co. He never brought anything with him, as to keep people from thinking he had particular attachment to his father, though Woltar and a few others had caught him there before. It was only when he was visiting that he had been able to calm down since a year ago. It was as if he was a changed person when he visited, his features softening slightly and his gaze lowered as if he was keeping wary of the spirits which lingered. He gave nothing to his father's grave but his heart, which he spilled on a regular basis when he snuck a chance.

He took in a deep breath, his eyes still scanning the two words on the gravestone. Glou Nox. The man whose life had been sacrificed for the sake of Albel's weakness. Instinctively, he clenched his fist, pausing and shifting his gaze when he heard the harsh crunch of leaves from behind him. Someone was coming. His whole expression shifted to nothingness for a moment before he spotted the redhead, then returned, with slight relief to boot. His hand moved subconsciously from his sword.

"Why are you here, wench? I thought you were going to be busy packing today."

Nel shook her head. "I took a break, and I heard from Woltar that you would be around here."

That old man and his good senses! Albel's eyes went toward the bouquet of flowers that the woman held in her arms. "What's that?" he started, stepping away when she moved to look at the gravestone. His first instinct was to push her aside, but instead he let her examine it carefully before speaking again. "I didn't think you knew anyone who's been buried here."

"I don't." To his surprise, she leaned down, placing the flowers upon his father's grave. She dipped her head down in respect, shutting her eyes and seeming to be offering a silent prayer. Albel blinked, watching as she reopened her eyes and turned to look toward him. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "What did you--"

"I brought flowers for you, since Woltar said that you never bring them yourself. And as for what I prayed.." she spoke as she stood up, her eyes on the grave until she had fully risen, to which she glanced toward him. "I thanked him for his generosity-- and how he had given his life for his son's sake. Otherwise, I would have never met you, nor would anything been as it had been before. Your father has my upmost respect."

Albel was quiet for a long time, allowing the words to sink in. He hadn't given permission for her to speak much about his father before, and he hadn't been planning on it, but this he could forgive. He turned toward the grave, lowering his gaze once before raising it once more. His father would understand who this woman was, he figured. It wasn't the first time he had brought her up in his thoughts there to his father. A faint smile played on his lips for the first time in months. "Foolish woman." he muttered, though his tone was warm.

"Are you done here?"

The man nodded after a moment. He could always return when he had to think. Nel dipped her head once more in the direction of the grave, truly looking grateful --goodness bless the wench-- and he followed her. His strides were larger than hers and he caught up to her quickly enough, quietly moving so he could wrap his right arm around her. As always, she leaned up against him, gracing him with the scent of strawberries and perfume. He paused a moment to allow his words to form in his mind before he spoke them, leaning in to whisper, "Thank you."

The woman smiled, shifting her stance so she could look up toward him. "Anytime."

He pulled her a little closer as they kept walking, their pace going considerably slower. "Just don't sneak up on me like that again, maggot."

Nel's smile widened faintly. "How many times do I have to say that's not my name again, Albel?" Before he could respond, she added in, "And you can't say that I don't get special treatment anymore."

"Bah." They reached the entrance of the graveyard and he took a moment to glance back before shifting her form into his arms. She looked up toward him expectantly, the smile not fading from her lips. "Alright," he finally stated. "You win." The redhead looked triumphant enough, and he muttered, "For now."

"Mm." the woman nodded a bit. The response was good enough for her. When he pulled her closer, he could sense her gaze going toward the graveyard once more and he guided her head down to his shoulder, tilting his own so he could bury his face in her red locks.

"_Nel_......." 

Fin

_Author's Note_: Hasty end, much? Actually it's to keep moiself from writing 2,000 chapters, which I'm more used to doing than short stuffies. Heehee. But really..it's kinda hard to write IC for these two. X.x! 


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